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Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Joe Aberrcombie’s Before They Are Hanged published recently, I finished reading it recently, and posted my review.I loved it and think Joe’s writing improved with the second book in his First Law Trilogy.How the full story will be told remains to be seen, but if the third volume manages to keep pace with The Blade Itselfand Before They Are Hanged, then I (and other folks who’ve been following) will be in for a really doozy of a read.Hell, I wouldn’t put it past Joe to up the ante with third book, he just seems like that kind of guy.

Monday, March 10, 2008

Another Monday, another one of my book reviews goes up at SFFWorld. This time, it is the third book in Mike Resnick's Starship saga - Starship: Mercenary. On the whole I liked it, and thought it was an entertaining read, but have mild reservations.

I'm in a bit of a quandary with my writing right now - I'm torn between two projects. One is a novel I completed a couple of years ago and read and marked up after letting it sit for about a year. I know it needs work, but I really believe in the potential of the characters and the story. The book falls into the Urban Fantasy / Supernatural Fantasy subgenre.

The other writing project vying for my fictional writing attention is something I started a couple of months ago. I outlined the sucker, did some character biographiess, and set up some plot points I know I want to hit along the way. This one is much farther from completion, but I am hesitant to abandon it, even for just a week. I would best describe it as post-apocalyptic fantasy and I think (and hope) I'm doing some interesting things in the story.

Saturday, March 08, 2008

It's the end of an era, so to speak as my career as a Marketing / Business Development Editor / Specialist in the Engineering Consulting industry has come to a close. At least for now, the old adage of never say never is a truth in which I find myself believing. I spent just about five years in the industry through a strange set of circumstances and it is scary how quickly those five years flew in my life. I met some really interesting, strange, brilliant, eccentric , funny, kind, amazing, and wonderful people, some of whom, I hope to keep in touch with in the future. Some people who may be reading this know to whom I refer, whether an acquaintance or those reading it directly.

Now; however, I'm going back to the publishing industry. Essentially the rots of where I began my true professional career. There were many things I enjoyed about the publishing industry, and since I'm an admitted biblioholic, I'm thrilled to be going back to my roots. Granted, the last publishing job I had kind of chewed me up and spit me out, but the situation was completely different than what it is now. Since then, I've grown both emotionally and intellectually and am eager to face this next challenge in my life.

Of course, it doesn't hurt that the new job is the next town over from where I live, cutting my commute by 2/3. This is great because it will allow me (hopefully) more time to devote to my writing.

Friday, March 07, 2008

1. What is in the back seat of your car right now?Nothing, aside from the seats themselves.

2. When was the last time you threw up?Probably about two years ago when I got really drunk on B&B, Jack Daniels, Rum, Beer and Vodka. I was stressed and decided I could drink all of the straight from the bottle.

3. What's your favorite curse word?Fuck.

4.Name 3 people who made you smile today?My wife, a co-worker, and probably the guy at Dunkin Donuts because he finally got my order correct.

5. What were you doing at 8 am this morning?Pulling into the parking lot at work, which is last time I will have done that for this job. Today is my last day here; I start a new job on Monday.

6. What were you doing 30 minutes ago?Checking my work e-mail for the last time here.7. What will you be doing 3 hours from now?Probably saying goodbyes to people here who I like.

8. Have you ever been to a strip club?Yes.

9. What is the last thing you said aloud?“This fucking cell phone sucks!”

53. Do you eat healthy?If I could eat steak every day I could, so no I don’t

54. What do you usually do during the day?Work, write, eat sleep.

55. Do you hate anyone right now?Not that I personally know.

56. Do you use the word 'hello' daily?Hello. There, I just did.

58. How old will you be turning on your next birthday?See question number 17.

59. Have you ever been to Six Flags?We here in Jersey call it Great Adventure, but yes. At least once a year it seems, plus I had a season pass with some friends right after we were graduted from high school.

60. How did you get one of your scars?I fell down some stairs when I was a wee lad, which explains the scar on my forehead. I tried to use a whip when I was a teenager and scarred my chin. (J/K)

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

It has been many years since I've really played a good round of Dungeons & Dragons, aside from a recent attempt with my brother-in-law, but those rounds and adventures will always be a fond remembrance. Those rounds of dice rolling, character generation, and late night monster fighting helped to set me on my path to geekdom.

So it is with sadness that I mention the passing of Gary Gygax, the "father of the role-playing game."